Shadow of Memories
Xbox Microsoft Windows PlayStation Portable | genre = Adventure | modes = Single-player }} (Shadow of Destiny'' in North America) is an adventure game developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo and published by Konami. Originally released for the PlayStation 2 in 2001, it was later ported to Xbox (which is only released in Europe) and Microsoft Windows in 2002. A PlayStation Portable version was released on October 1, 2009 in Japan and on January 26, 2010 in North America. Gameplay The objective of Shadow of Memories is to guide player character Eike Kusch through the fictional German town of Lebensbaum (Life's Tree) as he travels through time to prevent and unmask his murderer. The game takes place in three parts: a prologue, eight chapters, and an epilogue. In the prologue and each chapter, Eike dies, is resurrected by the non-player character Homunculus, and travels back in time before his death with the intent of changing events to prevent it. Shadow of Memories lacks traditional action elements, and Eike cannot attack nor does he have a bar displaying his health. The digipad, a time-traveling item given to Eike by Homunculus, requires energy units, which the player can find scattered around the town. The gameplay primarily consists of time-traveling through the different eras, finding items, and interacting through dialogue with the non-player characters. Actions taken in one time period affect future ones; for example, if Eike removes a seal from the squire's manor in 1580, the seal will not appear in the present era. Additionally, the game keeps two digital clocks: one depicting the time in the present-day era and another for whichever era Eike time-travels to. The amount of time Eike spends in the different eras also passes in the present-day one. The cut-scenes and dialogue takes up varying amounts of in-game time. When the clock arrives at the time of Eike's death, the chapter restarts, however, if Eike is not in his time period at the time of his death, the game ends. Plot Set in a fictional German town named Lebensbaum (Life's Tree), Shadow of Memories revolves around a 22-year-old man named Eike Kusch, who dies in the beginning of the game from being stabbed after leaving a small diner. However, he is resurrected by Homunculus (voiced by Charles Martinet in English), a djinn or genie, who offers to send him back in time to prevent his death and gives him the time-traveling digipad. Eike explores four eras—2001, 1979/1980, 1902 and 1580 to 1584 — as he attempts to unmask his killer and figure out a way of stopping his own murder at various points in the present. Along the way he encounters several characters: Dana, a modern-day waitress whom he accidentally brings back to the year 1580 and loses; the present-day fortune teller, who tells Eike the hour of his death; Eckart Brum, the curator of a private art museum who lost his wife and infant daughter in a shooting; Dr. Wolfgang Wagner, an alchemist living in 1580 with his wife, Helena, and their two children, Hugo and Margarete; and Alfred Brum, the great-grandfather of Eckart. Given a red stone by Dana, Eike follows the Homunculus' instructions to give the stone to Wagner. Time-traveling ten days later, Eike discovers that the result of Wagner's experiment destroyed the lab and caused Hugo, already upset by his mother's death due to a lingering illness, to build a time machine and track Eike down with the intent of killing him. Depending on the player's actions, Hugo holds either Margarete or Dana hostage in the present and plans to use the red stone, revealed to be the Philosopher's Stone, to resurrect his mother. Endings Shadow of Memories consists of eight endings, with six available at first. The last two must be unlocked by achieving the first six. The endings are presented in an alphabetical format, A–E, with B having two variations, and then two "EX" endings. In all endings, he discovers that Homunculus was using him to ensure that he would be "created" (actually unsealed) by Wagner, and returns the digipad to him. Ending A: Eike discovers that Homunculus switched the infants Dana and Margarete after meeting him in the towns park in 1980, making modern-day Dana actually Margarete Wagner and medieval-Margarete actually Dana. Furthermore, after visiting the fortuneteller in the modern day, it is revealed that she is the trapped disembodied spirit of Hugo's mother, Helena Wagner, brought back after a failed attempt by Hugo to resurrect her using unmastered alchemy. Homunculus creates a puppet resembling Wolfgang Wagner to attempt to dissuade Hugo from his plans, and after a short discussion, the puppet and Hugo disappear in a haze of smoke. Homunculus slyly reveals they could not call up the spirit of the real Dr. Wagner-as Eike had requested-because he was in fact not dead yet but Homunculus does not disclose Dr. Wagner's whereabouts. While returning the digipad to Homunculus, Eike accidentally drops the device, which explodes, killing Homunculus with a single piece of shrapnel striking his cheek(Homunculus had stated on multiple occasions that their body was extremely fragile). Sometime later, it is mentioned that Margarete is now reunited with her biological parents, the Brums, who adopted her, though it appears that none of them are aware of their true relation to each other. Depending on the outcome of a certain time-travelling sub-quest, Eckart's wife and Margarete's mother, Miriam Brum, may or may not be alive as well (she was implied to have been killed by a seemingly stray bullet while taking a walk with her baby, in the original time-line). While on a date together in the townsquare, Eike and Margarete (who are implied to now be in a relationship) return to the spot where Homunculus died, only to discover a large full-grown tree which contains the Philosopher's Stone already embedded in its trunk. Ending B: There are two variations to ending B: B1 and B2. In B1, Eike discovers the fortune teller's identity and convinces Hugo to enter the hut to meet with her; Helena causes the building to collapse, killing Hugo, who allows himself to be killed by debris in order to be reunited with his mother (though it is not mentioned if her spirit is actually freed by this). He then returns Margarete to the past in which she grew up (though the present is actually her birth-era). B2 sees Hugo attempt to abandon Margarete in the present, only to have Eckart subdue and scold him (neither he nor Margarete are aware of their true relation to each other). Hugo apologizes and returns to the past with Margarete. Both variations conclude with Eike's decision to have a drink at the bar in celebration of living. Ending C: Eike travels to 1580. Hugo searches for his father's research while an elderly Hugo appears with a time machine and offers to teach him to use it. When Eike reveals his presence in an effort to stop young Hugo from listening, the older version panics and tries to escape up the stairs. Margarete gets in his way, and he threatens and tries to strike her with his cane. Hugo rushes to stop him, and the two make contact, causing both Hugos cease to exist due to a dimensional paradox. Margarete collapses, and Eike returns to the present, where he gives the Digipad back. After Homunculus' departure, Eike lies down in the street to look at the stars praising being alive, only to be run over by two drunk men in a car. Ending D: Eike enters the ruined lab and burns Wagner's notes about the Stone, just as Hugo and Margarete enter. Unable to read the burned notes, Hugo apparently never learns about what his father was working on and thus never desires revenge or create a time machine, causing the Hugo and Margarete in the present to disappear. Hugo then decides to live his own life. It is revealed in a flashback that Homunculus is actually a djinn or genie imprisoned in the form of what became known as the Philosopher's Stone, and not at all an artificial life created by Wolfgang Wagner. Upon learning of this from a newly awakened Homunculus (who appears once the Stone evaporates into smoke), Wolfgang suddenly realizes that he has ultimately wasted the majority of his adult life for literally nothing as he has neglected his family by spending virtually all of his time over the years seeking to cure his wife's progressively degenerative illness by attempting to create a Philosopher's Stone in his lab, only for her to die anyway before he ever managed to accomplish anything; with Homunculus' revelation that the Philosopher's Stone is merely just the Homunculus' sealed form and not really an alchemical creation at all, it turns out that it was always impossible to begin with, already right from the very start. Instantly becoming extremely depressed, Wolfgang immediately experiences a nervous breakdown and fervently wishes to be young again like Eike (who he had met earlier and who impressed him with his youthful energy), so as to have a "do-over". Homunculus callously derides him for his spontaneous emotional outburst and an enraged Wolfgang then tries to reseal them with a pentagram. This enrages Homunculus in turn and just before they transform into the Stone again, they curse Wolfgang "to suffer the eternal night of youth" (the blessing of eternal youth but saddled with perpetually recurring amnesia) thus filling the room with smoke and lightning. Once the air clears, Wolfgang Wagner's younger self is revealed to in fact actually be Eike himself (it is subtly hinted earlier in the game in a conversation between Eike and Helena on her deathbed shortly before her death, that Helena finds that Eike's voice sounds shockingly similar to Wolfgang's). Over the course of the next several centuries, Eike then becomes an immortal wanderer who permanently loses all his long-term memories on a regular periodic basis. Ending E: Eike asks Dana, the actual Margarete Wagner (his biological daughter, based on Ending D, though neither is aware of this), to return with him to the present in which she grew up, and she agrees. She is held hostage by Hugo (again, neither of them nor Eike are aware of their true relation to each other). Eike goes to get Margarete and brings her to the present, where she slaps and scolds Hugo. Tearfully, she tells him she can try and be more like their mother was to them and take care of them both. Hugo apologizes, then returns to the past with Margarete, who had managed to warn Eike about Hugo's plans. Eike and Dana are then about to intimately share a tender embrace but are suddenly interrupted by Homunculus. After a brief conversation in which Eike returns the digipad to Homunculus, Eike walks Dana back to her apartment. It is shown that while Dana says to Eike that she feels that he seems like he would be a "cool dad" as he appears to her to be "with it all", it remains deliberately ambiguous as to whether they still retain any serious romantic attraction for each other after literally years of separation between them on the part of Dana when she was in the Middle Ages; this has caused many fans to speculate that, given their continued flirtatious rapport with each other due to genetic sexual attraction, could possibly lead to future accidental incest on their part as they are actually secretly long-lost father and daughter (further fueled by the ending screen featuring Dana's picture and containing an admission from Eike that he does not know what his future may hold, which may be for the best). In a flashback, it is shown that Homunculus made Wagner disappear (possibly killing him), after he had wished never to see the creature again. It is possible this is not actually a flashback, but an epilogue, revealing what happens after Eike gives Dr. Wagner the Stone, which contains the Homunculus he sealed away in another timeline. This also explains how Eike is able to encounter Homunculus in the ruins of Wagner's house after the experiment fails and why they did not recognize him. EX Ending: This has two variations. Awakening from his first death with all his memories, Eike gets the red stone from the diner before Dana comes looking for him. :In EX 1 he gives Dr. Wagner the Philosopher's Stone, which allows him to make an elixir and successfully heals Helena at last. :In EX 2 Eike dies in the bar fire to enter Homunculus' dimension and throws the Philosopher's Stone at him, causing them to cease to exist as a result of coming into contact with themself. Both result in Eike fading away. Regardless of either choice, the final scene is the same. A young man who resembles Eike is walking through the streets in present-day and struck down like before. The object turns out to be a soccer ball that hit him, and the man returns the ball to a boy similar in appearance to Hugo. Development Developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo, a playable demo of Shadow of Memories debuted at the Tokyo Game Show in September 2000. The game went through several development titles: The Day and Night of Walpurgisnacht, Days of Walpurgis, and Time Adventure. Konami released Shadow of Memories for the PlayStation 2 in Japan on February 22, 2001, in North America on March 5, 2001 (retitled as "Shadow of Destiny"), and in Europe on March 30, 2001. In 2002, the now-defunct Runecraft company ported it to the PC, while an Xbox port appeared simultaneously in Europe and Australasia; a PlayStation Portable port arrived in 2009. Reception and legacy | Allgame_PS2 = | Edge_PS2 = 4/10 | EGM_PS2 = 6.83/10 | Fam_PS2 = 30/40 | GI_PS2 = 6.75/10 | GameRev_PS2 = B | GSpot_PC = 7.7/10 | GSpot_PS2 = 8.2/10 | GSpy_PC = 78% | GSpy_PS2 = 80% | GameZone_PS2 = 8/10 | IGN_PC = 8.7/10 | IGN_PS2 = 8.5/10 | IGN_PSP = 7.1/10 | OPM_PS2 = | PCGUS_PC = 70% | XPlay_PS2 = | MC_PC = 71/100 | MC_PS2 = 78/100 | MC_PSP = 54/100 }} The PlayStation 2 version received "favorable" reviews, while the PC and PSP versions received "mixed or average reviews" according to video game review aggregator Metacritic. In Japan, Famitsu gave the PS2 version a score of 30 out of 40. Reviewers praised the overall plot of the PS2 version as the game's strength. IGN's David Zdyrko called the story "one of the deepest and most engaging that has ever been told through a videogame." Andrew Vestal of GameSpot enjoyed the idea of the detective in a murder mystery as the intended victim. Writing for Game Revolution, Shawn Sanders liked the time-traveling aspect of the game. The graphics of the PS2 version received mixed responses. Sanders found the textures of the game "clean and detailed". Zdyrko disliked the low amount of detail on the characters and some of the background, but enjoyed the "lighting and particle effects", particularly the snow and night. Vestal praised the different visual depictions of Lebensbaum, and felt that high level of detail in the backgrounds helped to somewhat counterbalance the low-resolution of the game's graphics. Critics agreed that the full motion videos were well-done, and praised the realistic character animation. Critics commented on the general absence of action in the gameplay. Sanders considered it the game's greatest flaw and a possible source of frustration for players. The slow beginning to the PS2 version was remarked on by critics, who felt that the game eventually picked up after a while. Additionally, the "stiff" motion of the protagonist when running drew criticism. Reviewers noted the relatively short play time, and felt that the multiple endings enhanced the game's replay value. The game's soundtrack was well received. Critics wrote that it suited the mood and occasionally helped to build suspense. The voice acting also went over well, with several critics remarking on the quality of it. Zdyrko described it as "first-class" and believable, and commented that since much of the PS2 version consists of dialogue, flawed voice acting might have ruined the game. Vestal considered the voice acting of B-movie quality, but not flawed enough to be a major distraction. Shadow of Memories was a nominee for The Electric Playground s 2002 "Best Adventure Game for PC" and GameSpot's "Best Adventure Game on PC" awards, but lost variously to Syberia and Silent Hill 2. The latter publication's editors called it "one of the best PC adventure games to come around in some time". In 2011, Adventure Gamers named Shadow of Memories the 68th-best adventure game ever released. ''Time Hollow'' After Shadow of Memories, Kawano wrote and directed another game with a time-traveling element: the 2008 Nintendo DS title Time Hollow; it focuses on seventeen-year-old Ethan Kairos, who awakens in a world where his parents have been missing for twelve years, and his quest to find them. Along the way, he obtains the Hollow Pen, which allows him to create time portals to solve the mystery. Time Hollow continues the "themes of time manipulation and paradoxes", for which Kawano has expressed an interest. References External links * at Konami * at Konami * Category:2001 video games Category:Windows games Category:Xbox games Category:PlayStation 2 games Category:PlayStation Portable games Category:Konami games Category:Adventure games Category:Video games about time travel Category:Video games developed in Japan Category:Video games set in Germany Category:Video games set in the 16th century Category:Video games set in the 1900s Category:Video games set in the 1970s Category:Video games set in the 1980s Category:Video games set in 1902 Category:Video games set in 1979 Category:Video games set in 1980 Category:Video games set in 2001 Category:Science fiction video games Category:Fiction about alchemy Category:Fiction about murder Category:Video games about psychic powers Category:Video games about the paranormal Category:Alternate history video games Category:Video games with alternate endings